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Nuffnang

Monday, June 29, 2009

The NBA Draft post-script

The NBA draft passed by with some interesting scenarios and curiosities, but the recent trades that passed by were really the stars of the show. I will give my two cents on the issue for each team.

Atlantic:

Boston - Lester Hudson. worth a summer league invite. He may be better than Gabe Pruitt. The big issue will be all that Rondo-Ainge turmoil.

New York - Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas. Stephen Curry might have gotten away, but it remains to be seen if Ricky Rubio may be had for the right price. Knicks also get Darko. Hmm... Lee and Nate as trade bait? We will never ever hear the end of Lebron 2010 now.

Philadelphia - Jrue Holiday. Lottery talent that loves running. Perfect fit for the new-old school Sixers. How much he plays depends on what they do now with Andre Miller. He can play, people, despite what his numbers indicate.

New Jersey - Terence Williams. Traded Carter for Alston, Battie and Courtney Lee. They are setting up cap room for the offseason. But this is going to be a young team led by a young stud named Devin Harris. Growing pains, but they'll be dangerous.

Central:

Cleveland - Christian Eyenga, Danny Green, Emir Predzlic. Head scratcher with the Congolese first rounder. But they have Shaq. Mike Brown, bad things have happened to recent COY winners. Good luck with this bunch. Huge pressure on Lebron and more with Danny Ferry. However, Danny Green is a good catch where they picked him.

Indiana - Tyler Hansbrough, A.J. Price. Another white player in the roster, who busts his butt off. Another complimentary piece in a team revolving around fundamentals and sound play. However, their PG is still in flux, as each PG (preferably Jamaal Tinsley) can be had. And for a team reeling from the brawl, taking in someone who was involved with stolen laptops is not exactly ideal.

Chicago - James Johnson, Taj Gibson. More depth in the frontcourt with these two. Adding James Johnson might actually make Tyrus Thomas expendable. The bigger picture remains to be how to handle Ben Gordon's impending FA status.

Milwaukee - Brandon Jennings and Jodi Meeks. They also secured Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen and Amir Johnson. They might blow things up. Meeks is to Michael Redd when Redd is to Ray Allen when Redd was drafted in the second round. Can Jennings walk the walk? He will get the chance to be tutored by Skiles. Now who will be leaving first, Luke or Ramon?

Detroit - Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko. They also acquired Fabricio Oberto. Additional depth, but they are to make a free agent run at somebody to retain relevance (i.e. Ben Gordon or Carlos Boozer). Those three forwards could also facilitate deals towards certain people.

South:

Atlanta - Jeff Teague, Sergiy Gladyr. They also secured Jamal Crawford at minimal cost. No matter what do they do with Bibby, they are still in the race. Teague will be the future point man Acie was supposed to be. Gladyr is a stash 'em for the moment.

Charlotte - Gerald Henderson, Derrick Brown. Here goes another proven Carolina talent (this time from the Duke Program). Gerald looks to be groomed as Raja Bell's heir apparent. Derrick is a late first round talent falling into the second round. The Bobcats are only one veteran piece to contend in the bottom 4 playoffs seeds.

Washington - None, but traded for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Their backcourt rotation is set (Arenas, Foye, Miller, Stevenson, Young). Now if they can get a reserve big and hire those miracle trainers in Phoenix...

Miami - Patrick Beverley, Robert Dozier. Typical Pat Riley picks. Both can defend, so they have a chance at a roster spot.

Orlando - None, but secured Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. He's back home. Can he get it done? What does this mean for Hedo? Gortat also is a free agent.

Southwest:

San Antonio - DeJuan Blair, Jack McClinton, Nando De Colo. Spurs fired the first shot, trading 3 contracts for Richard Jefferson, then get the luck of the draw with the Blair selection. McClinton provides instant offense and De Colo is a typical Spurs Euro pick. Lakers have to deal with the Spurs for two more years. They know how to do things and do things that appeal to their fanbase best.

Dallas - Rodrigue Beaubois, Nick Calathes, Ahmad Nivins. Beaubois and Calathes are guards who might come in if Jason Kidd departs. Of course, it would be better they get an additional season or two in Europe before they enter the NBA, but they can contribute. Nivins will get a summer league invite and things will develop from there.

Houston - Jermaine Taylor, Sergio Llull, Chase Budinger. Good things come in threes, and Daryl Morey completes the young geek GMs who seem to have a great knack with the draft. Llull might stay overseas, but the other 2 can compete for roster spots and with Budinger, might contribute immediately.

New Orleans - Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton. Pargo was a huge loss to the team last year and Collison would be able to fill the void he left.

Memphis - Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young. A bunch of young talent that will play all out (at least on the defensive end). Jury is out if they will regret passing on Rubio. They also get Quentin Richardson to be Antoine Walker's buddy on the bench.

Midwest:

Portland - Victor Claver, Dante Cunningham, Jeff Pendergraph, Patrick Mills. This seems more low key than in previous years, but Kevin Pritchard seems to have the Midas touch with the draft. Claver would be a talent to add in the future, Pendergraph and Cunningham could compete for a role as a back-up for LaMarcus. Mills could be a sneaky roster addition to replace Sergio. More trade chips at his disposal for a key veteran addition.

Denver - Ty Lawson. Chauncey gets 2-3 years to train him to be the new Mr. Big Shot. And with his speed, will be a perfect fit in the Mile High City.

Oklahoma City - James Harden, B.J. Mullens, Robert Vaden. Harden will complement Westbrook as a scoring 2-guard who can take it to the rim. Mullens is another big man project and Vaden can get it to the hole. Presti seems to know what he is doing, so he has the benefit of the doubt.

Minnesota - Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, Henk Norel. They also acquired Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila in the deal. Norel can be stashed in Europe, but the intriguing selection of point guards back-to-back really boggles the mind, especially if one of them is named Ricky Rubio. It's hard to imagine having both Rubio and Flynn play and grow together. One of them will be dealt, book it. Ellington, though is the offensive foil to Corey Brewer.

Utah - Eric Maynor, Goran Suton. Eric is going to be a really good back-up to Deron and can play alongside him as well. Suton is a good big man insurance who can be stashed in Europe if need be. A poor man's Memo.

Pacific:

LA Lakers - Chinemelu Elonu. What they will do is simply keep who they need to keep. They can always stash the guy in Europe.

LA Clippers - Blake Griffin. The only choice and the right choice. Needs to figure out a way to let him play.

Golden State - Stephen Curry. They also traded for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton. Not that Monta Ellis would be scared by the pick. However, I have a sense that they are not finished just yet. Acie and Speedy are not going to be much a factor.

Sacramento - Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, John Brockman. Not bad, but would be better. Tyreke better prove that passing on Rubio is a good thing. However, they did secure a Spanish PG in Sergio Rodriguez, who likes transition ball. The Kings will run and run a lot next season with their greyhounds. Brockman helped out Spencer Hawes before, and he will get a chance to do it again.

Phoenix - Earl Clark, Taylor Griffin. Welcome to the deconstruction of the Phoenix Suns. Where you can get Shaq for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. Where you could possibly trade Amare to Golden State. Where you have the lesser talented brothers in Robin Lopez and Taylor Griffin. However, which Earl Clark will be coming out? The Lamar Odom or the Tim Thomas.

Three drafts I like: San Antonio, Philadelphia and MilwaukeeThree drafts I loathe: Cleveland, Minnesota, Sacramento.